Odd-jobs Incorporated

With little time to find this mysterious item, the group began their investigation by visiting one of the most dangerous places in Sharn, Malleon’s Gate. Starting off, Thorn led the group to the fight pit, where he once fought as a gladiator, and the location where he believed Shurat to be at most likely. Still trying to stay in low profile, Thorn waited outside the arena and Ashkhad kept him company, while Ratchet and Rae proceeded to get Ratchet signed up, hopping to get noticed by Shurat if he did well enough in a match. With Ratchet’s match set for tomorrow, Thorn led them to one other place to gain a bit more info on the Hobgoblin. He leads everyone to one more location, a run down and dank bar called the Blue Eye’s where an information broker and well known accomplice he hadn’t seen in a while ran. The owner was a bugbear named Seto and he immediately recognized Thorn.

Once introductions had been made, Thorn brought up the fact that Seto still had favors he owed Thorn, and went right out to ask about Shurat. In the instance the name was said, the room grew quiet and Seto claimed he was treading on dangerous grounds and was reluctant to speak more of it. At the mention of the name Shurat, Ashkhad noticed a half-elf leave the room and one thing that stood out about him was his purple cloak that reminded him almost immediately of Andres. Unable to view it as a coincidence and determined to get some answers, Ashkhad excuses himself and asks for Ratchet to follow along. Once outside though, they lose track of the man and Ashkahd hears a voice in his head calling his name but it sounds like it’s his own voice. The two of them decide to head over to see their friends to make sure nothing too suspicious was going on. As they reached the Jorasco clinic where their friends were being cared for, they talk to the nurse in the room. She tells them that they were the only visitors to stop by this room and that they’re friends still didn’t seem close to waking up. Puzzled, Ashkhad and Ratchet headed back down to meet back up with the others.

Back at the bar, Thorn decided to leave the heavy talk for a bit and challenged Seto to a game of cards. After a few rounds, Thorn ups the stakes, waging a bag of gold for information about Shurat. Seto, unable to say no to the tempting wager, agrees and loses quiet easily to Thorn’s card skills. Seto unfortunately didn’t know much other than Shurat having a secret warehouse by the docks where he conducted most of his illegal trades and smuggling business. Once Ashkhad and Ratchet had returned, they headed back home and planned out their next course of action.

A note is left by the door of their house just as they about to leave. Ashkhad reads it aloud and the group are taken back by the words “someone is watching you.” The letters disappear though, and a new sentence appears describing a deal that the sender wished to make followed by an address. The paper bursts into flames and the group decides to see what this individual has to say. The location is conveniently down in Malleon’s Gate, and nearby the arena. After making a stop at the coliseum to confirm the time of Ratchet’s match, they head to and arrive at the letter’s location. Inside they discover the Goblin who ran the signups for the coliseum. He carries some grudge with Shurat and was hoping to get them to embarrass him in some way in exchange for the information of his warehouse as well as a means to get the character who is following them off of their back. The group agrees to his seemingly one sided deal, and gain the information to find out where Shurat’s warehouse stood. The Goblin also stress the importance of a vault with a high security arcane lock. The group makes the decision to have Ashkhad and Thorn head to the warehouse and scope out and see what information they could find, while Ratchet and Rae watch for Shurat at the arena in hopes of getting noticed and getting the chance to meet with him.

Ratchet’s match begins and he is pitted against a Minotaur. Rae spots Shurat in the stands but her gaze becomes distracted as she saw notices a woman in clothes too elegant not to notice in the crowd that reminds her of Neya. Her own voice speaks her name in her head and she decides to leave Shurat alone, and chase after who she assumed to be her friend.

Ashkhad and Thorn made their way down to the docks and easily find the warehouse thanks to the goblin’s instructions. Knocking out one the guards, Ashkhad puts on the guard’s clothes and proceeds to make his way into the warehouse while sneaking Thorn inside a covered cart. Once inside, they began their search for the vault, testing the walls for any sort of hidden doors. After some time of searching, they find a suspicious wall as well as a crate with a hidden lever that gave them access. The alarm unfortunately goes off and they find themselves pushed for time. Luckily, the room is small and mostly empty. The one thing that seemed the most suspicious is a wooden box with a lock. After breaking it open, they find to their surprise the Keyblade within. Ashkhad picks up the key and suddenly the room grows dark around them.

The group found themselves back in the field they had seen when they first arrived into Dal Quor. The image of the man who hired them, Gilian, dissolved and was replaced by Zoratash, kneeling on the ground as if extremely exhausted. He described the entire event they were in was his one last chance to get the key back, but he had to play by a different set of rules he had little control over. Accepting defeat, and knowing that there was no hope left for him, he dismissed the group, telling them to leave him and the plane to fate. Ashkhad asked one last question before they left, about why the Quori had invaded Eberron so long ago. Zoratash simply said they had wished for the paradise Dal Quor was to last, and regardless of the consequences he wanted to return it to that some day.

A ghostly voice rings through the air, and immediately everyone recognizes it as Jaharath, their companion who had left them some time ago. The feeling of every molecule in their body being stretched overwhelms them and in an instant they find themselves in an unfamiliar area, Jaharath’s hands placed upon a large glowing spherical object emitting power psionic energies. He turns to them with a solemn yet joyful expression but it’s not hard to also see he looks completely drained.

Jaharath explains that there was a disturbance at the border that helped keep Adar safe from Riedra. The energies that were overflowing from the portal were causing a disturbance to the border that remained stable for many years and Jaharath along with many other Kalashtar used their power to retain the barriers stability. The result of so many Kalashtar channeling their energies allowed them to mentally connect with Dal Quor and caused them to see everything that was happening within. Jaharath noticed something was wrong with Neya, Elaydren, Skye, and Andres and they used the power of all the linked psions and teleport them to Adar. He told the other Kalashtar to watch and see what happens in Dal Quor and when the group had succeeded against their battle with Zoratash, they were teleported out to the location they presently were. Jaharath was glad that they were safe but many Kalashtar lost their lives defending the barrier. After briefly explaining all of this, Jaharath collapses from exhaustion.

A glow appears from outside the handy haversack and Ratchet retrieves the spellbook. A familiar voice is heard, and the words of the prophecy are repeated once more.

The force of fallen light
Descent and flame too bright
A lost and fallen race
The scions turned from grace
The war precedes the rend
The song of the dancing dead
Unties the air to land
And forgets what time began
The worlds must come to an end
The dark of space will bend

Tired from the long struggle, everyone decided to take a much needed and deserved rest.

With Zoratash gone having vanished through the portal and the portal now closed, the group along with Helais and their friends currently controlled by him are left in the room. Ashkhad demands for him to return their friends and turn on the portal. Helais simply responds by sending their friends forward. They grab out their weapons and prepare to fight. Thorn fights against Andres, dodging his attacks from his dragonmark and eventually manages to disarm him. Thorn ends their struggle with a one hit punch into Andres face, immediately knocking him out. But soon after Andres falls, Ashkhad senses a power leave the Half-elf and join with Helais as though it originally belonged to him and notices Helais become stronger from that. Ashkhad deals with Neya and her own power as she summons psionic blades but he easily manages to dodge and eventually lifts her up and pins her to the ceiling. She cries for help but Ashkhad sees through the deception and becomes more furious with Helias. Skye and Elaydren charge after Ratchet. The artificer misses her attack but Skye follows up with daggers, narrowly missing the Warforged’s neck. Before she can step back, Ratchet manages to get her in a stranglehold and knocks her out, while Rae keeps Elaydren on tempo, using her superior prowess in hand to hand combat. Rae literally keeps her off her toes by constantly tripping her so that she is unable to fight effectively. With two of their friends out of the fight, and the other two simply unable to get out of their hopeless situation, Helais summons more of his power back from Neya and Elaydren, causing them to also become immobile. The four fight against Helais but eventually Thorn finishes him off with with a powerful swing from his axe.

With Helais killed, the group discusses how to open the portal. Not willing to let the machine use their friend’s souls again, they decide to pool their own power into the machine and manage to charge it long enough for them to enter the portal.

They find themselves in a scene familiar to them from some time ago. They are in a green field with clear blue skies and the only noteworthy sight is a tree ahead of them. As they approach, Zoratash appears from behind it to confront them. He comments on the damage from the tree and how its destruction has slowed but will eventually consume the tree which is connected to the heart of Dal Quor. Zoratash approaches the tree but Rae jumps ahead to reach for the Keyblade in his hand. Zoratash turns and glares at Rae stating how she shouldn’t have attempted to interfere as the world melts around into a dreamlike scene.

The scene becomes more stable and they find themselves in Sharn but far from a peaceful day. The sky is cloudy from smoke as waves of fire wash over the city and debris raises up from the lower districts. Meteors rain down from above and collide with the city. Zoratash simply hovers in the air, unconcerned with the surrounding devastation. Ashkhad launches his attack, using the bizarre nature of the world which the group had experienced many times on their journey, he manipulates the trajectory of the meteors and sends them towards Zoratash who simply dodges out of the way. Thorn follows up by activating his aberrant dragonmark, creating a path of ice up to their enemy, enabling him to fight at close range. Zoratash retaliates though by messing with the Shifter’s mark, causing it to peel from his skin and come to life hurting Thorn in the process. Ratchet sprouts metallic wings and gains the ability to fly and keep up with Zoratash and Rae strengths the power of her legs to jump to extreme heights and reach their enemy as well. Rae manages to place a hand on the blade but her attempt causes the blade to vanish.

Zoratash warps the world, and the scene of Sharn melts and is replaced by a dense forest in the middle of the Eldeen Reaches. Ashkhad also sprouts his own psionic wings and creates an army of clones of himself to aid in their fight. Thorn picks out a fairly large tree and chucks it right at Zoratash. Ratchet enchants his blade and transformers it into a bow, but he is attacked by a zombified Niv and Elaydren.

The world changes once again into the blasted desolate landscape of the Mournland. Rae rushes forward and launches a volley of daggers to catch Zoratash off guard. They hit their mark but Zoratash appears to still be fine. Suddenly, the clones that Ashkhad created begin to turn on each other and fight due to Zoratash’s influence. Thorn notices a silhouette of the Keyblade in Zoratash’s hand and tells Ashkhad that he is still holding onto the weapon. Ashkahd takes the opportunity to steal it back with his psionic abilities wrenching it out of Quori’s grasp. To help distract him and aid Ashkhad in the retrieval of the blade, Thorn summons a visage of his father and the two of them go after Zoratsh. Zoratash, too distracted by the barrage of attacks and his desire to get back the Keyblade fails to notice Rae dashing towards him. Rae manages to get in a brutal strike to one of Zoratash’s artieries kills him just as the Keyblade reaches Ashkhad’s hand. The world grows dark and silent.

The group awakes. In the distance is Sharn and their friends close by, passed out on the ground. They enter the city and meet with Viorr who sends their friends to House Jorasco to be cared for. While they had done a great deed for the world, the only people who would truly know of their struggle and success would be between them and the select few they had met. The group decides to finally return home and get the rest they deserve.

A few days pass, but their friends and family have still not awoken but are recuperating slowly. They receive a message for a potential job, and journey to their meeting place, the tavern called the Lucky Lady, a tavern they previously went to when they met with the Halfling mob boss, Saidan Boromar. When they arrive they meet their employer, an entrepreneurial human of sorts in very fancy and likely expensive garments by the name of Gilian who tells them the details of the job. They are to retrieve a box with an item inside but like all things there is a catch. It is under the procession of a hobgoblin named Shurat who is one of his competitors and just so happens to be one of the pit masters in Sharn’s underground fight ring in Malleon’s Gate. He is infamous for being cruel and staging his matches. Thorn recognizes the guy in question since he was one of the people he worked for as a gladiator during his time in the ring. And Shurat likely has a grudge against him due to him leaving the fight pit. The item is supposed to be shipped out in a two days giving them little time to search for and obtain it.

Ashkhad looks around uneasily, knowing what will happen next looking for a way out of this, but to no avail. Rae asks out of curiosity if Ashkhad knows anything about this place, and Ashkhad reveals that it is the point in his life where he left his village behind. They try to prod him for more details but he seems to dodge around what actually causes him to leave and they decide to drop it. Knowing that the only way to get though this would be to face it head on, Ratchet and Thorn decide to get a closer look towards the center of the town where a lone young Kalashtar who Askhkad identifies as his past self, is standing, surrounded by but given plenty of room from many bystanders. When the two get closer though, they notice the people move out of their way but don’t actually acknowledge their existence. Rae and Ashkhad decide to watch from a distance on the hill they started on.

The younger Ashkhad begins the Thoughtsong, using dance and is own psionic abilities on surrounding instruments to perform. While it starts out seemingly innocent, Ashkhad eyes begin to grow red and his powers grow unstable. The crowd notices and everyone ducks down to avoid harm except one lone person who takes the force of Ashkhad’s uncontrollable power and sends him flying where he lands on his head and dies.
The bystanders back away from the young Ashkhad and go to the harmed individual. Before Ratchet and Thorn have a chance to assess what happened, Rae and Ashkhad find themselves nearby the two of them, and the four of them watch as the young Ashkhad transforms in to a shadow-like beast.

After many failed attempts to do it harm, Ashkhad eventually turns away from it, causing it to disappear slightly. Everyone else does the same and the creature vanishes.

Party is transported into a similar black void again where they see a visage of what appears to be another form of Ashkhad with a large scythe. When they attack the duplicate though, not only does it harm it but also relays the damage back to Ashkhad as well. The figure rushes towards Ashkhad and he simply stands there. It wraps around him and the two become one as the scene goes dark yet again.

Ashkhad wakes up in bed inside of a small cottage that seems to be in the Aundairian country side. He sees a crib but nothing inside. He leaves the room to see Neya sitting in a rocking chair holding something in her arms. The floor boards creak underneath his approach and Neya looks up to scowl at him, telling him that she had finally managed to put her to sleep. Ashkhad finally gets close enough to see that it is a baby girl that looks like him. Before Ashkhad can relax though, there is a knock on the door and Ashkhad gets it when urged by Neya so that the baby won’t wake up.
Before Ashkhad is able to answer it, the door bursts wide open and three inspired storm in, and even more so attack from outside the house with axes, hacking away at the walls.
Ashkhad throws furniture at the intruders and runs back to Neya and their baby to urge them to get moving. Neya asks what’s wrong but the wall breaks open and Neya becomes trapped underneath the rubble, while in the distance a beam of light appears beckoning Ashkhad to approach it.
Rather than leaving Neya behind, he stays to free her but she is unable to move due to her now harmed leg. Ashkhad helps her up to escape but as they approach the light, it closes on them and the scene turns to dark.

The others wake up and look around. Unsure what had happened. Taratai explains that Ashkhad had failed and they would have to continue another time and asks to have the body disposed of so that it doesn’t cause problems in the future.

Ashkhad wakes up on top of a flat pillar with a stained glass portrait on the top. A section of the pillar breaks off and falls. A hand touches Ashkhad on the shoulder and he turns to confront Neya, only he feels like it is actually her and not some memory.

She asks him why he did what he did, and he explains that he wouldn’t leave her only to be met with a slap in the face as Neya explains why he can’t afford to think or act like that right now, and to save it for another day when they are truly at peace.

Rae, Thorn, and Ratchet appear in the distance on top of another pillar and Neya urges him to go to them. Ashkhad makes her promise to stay alive when it is all over, and she makes him promise to be the one to make sure it happens. Ashkhad turns around to the edge of the platform and speaks a simple “I love you” before a path appears allowing him to walk to the distant pillar.

When Ashkhad gets close enough he notices his friends are gone and is instead replaced by Ashtaratai who welcomes him back before stepping forward to take control of Ashkhad once again. Ashkhad stands his ground ushers a speech. “It’s still my heart. You think you can just come in and take over? I’m not gonna sit by and let that happen, you’re gonna get shown the door. I’m not afraid of what the darkness holds now. Even if you do wrest control of my heart from me, even if you cast me into the deepest, darkest abyss, you’ll never sway me from the one cause that pushes me to keep on fighting.”

Ashkhad’s own Keyblade appears, it is a weapon that symbolizes the joining of Quori and Kalashtar, and the power that manifests from that union. He takes the blade and flings it straight at Ashtaratai where it impales him.

Ashtaratai screams in pain and demands to know what it happening to him. Ashkhad says that he is “Showing him the door.” Ashtaratai vanishes and Ashkhad wakes up

Taratai seems surprised but pleased that Ashkhad succeeded while another figure appears with long white hair claiming to be Zoratash as he had left an old prison for a new more suitable one.

He walks over to Ashkhad and places his hand on his head sending pain through Ashkhad but forcing his blade to appear in which he swiftly takes it. He does the same for the rest and sends double the pain to Ratchet over his sly remark of Zoratash’s old prison being the mask.
The party is released from the machine and follows Zoratash and Taratai to another room where a large vertically standing circular gate is situated, powered on by some psionic force. Above them are containers where four wisps float inside. Ashkhad voices his disgust of it due to his belief of how souls should be treated.

Zoratash powers up the portal with the keys and they fuse together to become the one they remembered from the past in Xen’drik and the Gatekeeper’s book.

Taratai notices Zoratash’s exhaustion and tries to help him. Zoratash turns on her and absorbs her into him causing her to vanish.
Zoratash feeling renewed, walks into the portal.

Upon arriving into the city, the party feels tense that their cover may be blown. After successfully making their way through the checkpoint and lying about being art enthusiasts, they find an inn to rent and begin to gather information. The part of the city they are in though seems too normal. Most of the people in the area are not actually from Reidra or Sarlona in general, but near one of the ends of the city is a large gate, sealing out the innermost part of the city that the group needed to get in. What’s worse is a tower that looms over the area and sends bad vibes that they are being watched. They retire back to the inn as it grows late. Ashkhad, while waiting in the common room, feels a strange psionic pulse followed by a wail that sounds eerily similar to Neya’s voice calling for help. Ratchet, who also is spending time in the common room, feels a magical pulse that gathers the attention of many other visitors as well but they simply ignore it. The two decide to investigate as Thorn is presently drunk and Rae is out gathering any other information she can receive.

Upon wandering along the coast, Ratchet discovers a drain gate. Rusted and loose, he believes it should lead into the inner city and with this they head back to the inn and plan out how they will get into the city. The very next night, they leave the inn and travel through the drainage pipe and find themselves in the middle of the city, the pulses from the night before getting stronger and stronger. Using that, they guide themselves to the source. The city itself at night is completely different. What from the light of the sun and at the distance looked like a mystical beautiful city, now feels more like an emotionless dark prison. Not a sound is heard and no one is wandering the streets as if the city is simply abandoned. The pulse leads them back to the center of the city where a large palace is situated. As they open the doors and enter they find themselves in a white room fitted with chairs in a circle. A lone woman sits upon one of them and she speaks, “Welcome my son. Or should I call you by your true name: Ashtaratai."

Ashkhad is bewildered by this statement. Knowing that he is indeed Ashkhad since the Quori spirit inhabiting him is Khad, and not Taratai as the women had stated; Taratai being the original Quori to invent the path of light; though she does confirm herself to be the actual Taratai inhabiting an artificial Kalashtar body. Helais appears from another hallway and following close behind are Elaydren, Neya, Skye, and Andres, but they appear lifeless and only respond to Helais. When they ask about what they did, he states that they were close to us, and since we are Ta’veren, they ended up being close to the prophecy. With this, they were able to use their souls to power a portal to Dal Quor.

Taratai seems open to discuss her plans with Ashkhad and asks him to chat with “her.” She explains the history of the Kalashtar race, and how it was an experiment. Among many other things where discussed, they found out that Niv had been possessed by a Quori and his body was rejected by it in the end which led to his death. Confirmation that Ratchet and Ku’rahnk are the same recycled soul, Ashkhad posses three souls, one of which is Taratai but sealed off so that he has no access to it and thus is more closer to Quori. As well as the collection of the keys and everything up to that has been part of Zoratash’s plan but need Ashkhad to obtain his to finish it. The party hands over the mask with the sealed Zoratash when Helais threatens their friends lives (By threatening to destroy the body so the soul has no way to return to it), and then request that they enter a strange machine to remove the part of Taratai in Ashkhad to manifest the Keyblade. The device turns on and they each find themselves in a dark space.

As the group looks around, their surroundings still stay the same; a solid ground but it seems like the darkness stretches on for an eternity in all directions. Unsure of where to go, Ashkhad states that they should move but before they plan any other course of action a figure appears, wrapped in a cloak or darkness speckled with eyes. He looks too alarmingly similar to Ashkhad. When they question him, he states that he is in fact a part of Ashkhad, named Ashtaratai, but was sealed away because of Khad. They learn that he is the part of Ashkhad that they need to destroy in order for him to manifest his Keyblade, but states that he doesn’t want to as he has things to do still, that involve taking over Ashkhad’s body. When they attack none of them are able to harm him. He states that because everyone other than Ashkhad are simply visitors and not actually a part of Ashkhad’s mind, he has little power over the rest but the same holds true for the opposite. Ashkhad on the other hand is told to have no power. Ashkhad tests this out by unleashing a psionic blast, only to have it repelled back at him. Ashtaratai approaches Ashkhad in an attempt to take over him but he is stopped by some force and the group finds themselves out of the dark space and into a blasted landscape, with the visage of a ruined and fallen Sharn in the distance.

Only one moon is in the sky and Ashkhad freaks out, ranting about how he failed and that the world is doomed. His memories warped, his past life feels a dream and the scene before him feels like reality. The same occurs to the rest but not to as an extreme extent. After the group tries to snap Ashkhad out of his state of distress, he runs as soon as he hears a frightening chittering sound that he recognizes as a Quori. Thorn catches up to Ashkhad and tackles him to the ground. They get into a quick debate about what they should do. Ashkhad knows it is pointless to continue but the group is determined to see what they can do to fix the mess and are willing to stand and fight the threat. Ashkhad, while still uneasy, agrees to follow and they head off to face the Quori. As they approach, everyone sees just how dangerous it really is. An army of Quori awaits, but regardless, they hold their ground. Ashkhad steels his resolves and rushes forward to face the Quori head on.

In another instant, the Quori vanish and the group finds themselves in a familiar area. While it looks to be a simple but long hall, it holds the qualities of their home back in Sharn. On the walls are ghastly images of their friends being tortured by agents of the Dreaming Dark. Their voices scream out from within the paintings, blaming Ashkhad for their pain and suffering. It takes a lot of effort, but the group manages to convince Ashkhad that it isn’t his fault and about their current goal to save their friends, and their true enemy. The screams finally quiet down and a door appears at the end of the hall. When they walk through, Ashkhad immediately recognizes that they are at his old village in Adar.

The party notices that the laboratory is empty. After they bring out Niv’s body and give him a burial, they catch the first ship back to Sharn. Once there, Rae leaves to inform Viorr of what occurred and for information on what to do next. Ashkhad meets with the Kalashtar elders to also gives them information of the Dreaming Dark’s movement. Ratchet finds Falon and tells him of Niv’s death and where to locate him so that they could transfer his body to a more suitable location. One thing the party notices though is that the uproar around House Deneith had settled down, and also the wanted posters of Faranhel that had previously been distributed around the city were gone. When Rae returns from her meeting with Viorr, she tells the rest of the party that they may have a way to get to Riedra, by boat. She tells them that Faranhel should know some group that would help. Once they went to go see him, they learned that he had a hand in helping with the Deneith incident and was rewarded quite well for it as evidence by his new clothes and the renovated building he now worked in. As they walk in, he dismisses a meeting that was going on and welcomes them. They talk about their journey into Xen’drik and ask if they could get some help on procuring a boat to Riedra. Faranhel agrees by showing them direction to where a group of smugglers could be found but also gives information on a suspicions boat with some cargo that left Xen’drik and was heading straight for Riedra. The party immediately believes it could be the missing equipment from the lab and inform Faranhel about it and how dangerous it is.

Once they get to the harbor, they locate the smugglers and pay them an exurbanite amount of money for the trip and disguises. Once they reached the high seas, they immediately began the chase for the ship. Ratchet prepares bombs so that they are able to sink the ship when the time is right. As they get closer, they are sent out on a lifeboat to attempt to get closer to the ship. They unfortunately notice their presence and attempt to escape but a storm brews and the lifeboat crashes into the ship. Once on board, a fight for control begins. At the end of the battle, they notice one of the lifeboats to be missing and instead have to navigate the ship back to their own vessel. Ashkhad uses his power to move the ship as the ship itself has a psionic device for control. They eventually make it back on board their own ship and once a safe distance away, blow up the ship with the time machine aboard and watch it sink into the sea. Eventually they find themselves on a few more minutes from landing in the Riedran city, Dar Jin.

After clearing the forest, the group doesn’t see the camp but rather a large black dome that Ashkhad immediately recognizes as something similar to the nightmare zones back in their time. But before any of them make a move, something comes over Ashkhad and he uses his powers to push everyone into the zone then causally walks in himself. Once inside they look around and notice they are in a field of golden colored grass. As the group tries to question Ashkhad he simply states he has no recollection of what occurred. The look around and unsure where to go they choose a direction and stick with it. After traveling for a few hours, they notice the sun hasn’t been setting and they grow worried that they are running out of time. But as soon as they travel further they see smoke in the distance. Once they get closer they notice a village and a group of children playing near the outskirts of the town notice them and run back into the village shouting that visitors had arrived. By the time they reach the entrance, a large crowd had gathered to meet them, but strangely enough the only races within the village where that of Shifters, Changelings, Warforged and Kalashtars. The onlookers view them with wonder rather than worry and when they ask if they could speak to the leader of the town they simply claim there is no leader. A single Warforged approaches them though with what appears to be a young Kalashtar clinging to him. He addresses himself as Keeper and the kid as Eir. While he says he isn’t the town’s leader, many come to him for advice, since he has been in the town longer than anyone. When the group tries to ask him questions of the town he says he simply doesn’t know anything, not even the origin of the town or how he got here, but he does offer them a place to stay at the Inn to rest and invites them to join in the harvest festival they would be having the next night. Unsure of what to do and having little other choice, they agree to stay the night.

Ashkhad thinks through the night about the predicament they are in and tries to figure a way out while Rae leaves to examine the town. Thorn and Ratchet decide to relax though, as Thorn orders drink after drink and Ratchet is lead by Keeper to meet with other Warforged. Keeper starts off by asking questions about Ratchet. While they start off as innocent questions about his life, they quickly divulge into questions about his identity and other details about the Warforged that Ratchet knows from his world.

The next day arrives and Ratchet feels a bit more attached to the town after the group talk and is quick to help the town out with the festival. He assists in helping prepare the feast too much of the groups dismay, is allowed and is trained by Eir who turns out to be a very good chef. Once it becomes evening the festival begins. Everyone joins into a group composed of their own race and simply gets swept away in the excitement. When the festival ends and the next day’s rays of sun peek into the village, everyone feels much more comfortable about the town and even decide to help out. Ashkhad decides to stay behind, still concerned about the state of their world and how much time they have before the activation of the moonbreaker and the illusion they are stuck in.

Two weeks pass since Ashkhad has decided to stay in his room and meditate on the situation. Ratchet becomes concerned for him and attempts to speak to him. They both don’t get very far as Ashkhad believes it is all an illusion and shouldn’t conform to this because it could be a trap, and Ratchet begins to wonder if it really is a trap since nothing has been happening and for the first time in his life he can say he is truly happy.
The third week goes by since they have been brought into the village, and Ashkhad has been meditating in his room. Disheveled and delirious from lack of sleep and food yet still a firm believer that everyone else has fallen into the enemy’s trap. When he hears a knock on the door, he remains seated, reluctant to answer it but eventually peers outside and notices a bowl of soup waiting. The smell reminds him of Adarn food and after he finishes it, he heads downstairs to speak with Eir. Eir states, that it was actually a Kalashtar women who had made it for him and gave him the directions to her house. Ashkhad approaches the women and they talk about the origins of the Kalashtar. The women doesn’t seem to know much about it and when Ashkhad peers into her he finds that there is no Quori inhibiting her being. Ashkhad shows her the Quori that he had been talking about and she becomes frightened and appalled. Ashkhad decides to drop the conversation and leaves.

A few more days pass and soon there is uproar from the children claiming that another visitor has arrived. The village quickly gathers to the entrance to meet with the stranger but as he arrives closer the group recognizes him as Niv and in his hand what they could only imagine was the Keyblade. Once he gets close enough though, Niv slashes his Keyblade, instantly killing a group of villagers. The other villages become frightened and run off as Niv continues to pursue forward killing off more individuals. Ratchet yells at Niv to stop but he continues his assault. Rae and Thorn summon their own Keyblades and together attack Niv, but they are pushed back before they could get close by a powerful force. Niv smirks claiming that their weapons pose no contest to what he wields and explains that the Keyblade he holds has the power to reform the weaves and control the fabric of reality itself. And when he swings his blade one last time, the world shatters before them leaving them in darkness.

Niv offers his hand out towards Ratchet and states that with the Keyblade, they could create a better world than the one they live in. Ratchet, while hesitant, becomes intrigued with the possibilities it holds, including that of bringing back Elaydren. While his friends attempt to convince to him against the decision, Ratchet eventually falls victim to it and joins with Niv. The darkness surrounding them vanishes and they find themselves back in the forest on Xen’drik, surrounded by Quori with the Giants in the distance about to approach. Niv with Ratchet’s help begins to use the Keyblade but suddenly Ku’rahnk appears holding an orb in his hand. He is stopped by a Zoratash who uses his shadowy tendrils to grab at him and cause him to drop the orb. Ku’rahnk yells for someone to break the orb and Rae, Thorn and Ashkhad begin to pursue it. Ashkhad gathers his energy launches it at the orb. The device shatters and the world is engulfed in a bright light.

Ratchet awakes on top of a pillar surrounded by darkness similar to his previous encounter when his mind was assaulted by the Progenitor. Niv stands in front of him and commands him to continue help him in his pursuit. Elaydren suddenly appears and after she speaks a few words to remind Ratchet of his own decisions what he truly wants, Ratchet turns against Niv and he regains consciousness.

Ratchet awakens to find that he has summoned a Keyblade of his own. Its color is a soft blue that shines in the light and a symbol etched into the end of the weapon. Niv turns in frustration as Ratchet throws the true Keyblade away from the two of them. As the moon breaker takes effect the Quori begin to scream in pain and slowly vanish as wells the group notices themselves becoming slightly transparent. Zoratash makes a grab for the key but Ku’rahnk pulls out an item from his bag and Zoratash slowly becomes pulled into it as the group vanishes back to their time. When they make their way back to the present, they view their surroundings and find that they are back inside the secret lab. Niv looks fatigued and when Ratchet inspects him and finds that he is slowly dying as his life force is simply leaving his body. Niv announces his regret for what he had done and places something into Ratchet’s hand and tells him that he can possibly save them before passing away. Ratchet looks at the item he was given and realizes it to be a necklace that Elaydren wore.

When the group reaches the outskirts of the city, Ratchet takes a look behind him and notices the vision he had from the mask of Warforged lined up along the walls and in chains. Ku’rahnk asks them what they plan to do next and says that the city is lost for now but there is another base of operations that he can lead them too. They deiced to have Ku’rahnk lead them to the other location. When they get there and explain their situation to the Giants they are once again told to be held in a cell. The group speaks up once more and tries to prove how they are truly from the future and would like to help in fighting the Quori. The Giants take out a device that emanates with powerful magic that almost borderlines unstable but allows everyone to communicate with each other without the need of someone acting as translator. While it takes a large amount of effort to gain their trust, the Giants eventually believe them. The group tells them about another who came to this time with them and how they need to see him to gain information on what his goals are and why he seems to be working for the Quori. The Giants give them information on the enemy’s stronghold and how to get there but they are reluctant to send any further help beyond that.

During their conference, they gain information about the Key and the Keyblades that they hold. The Giants sound confident that the Key they have could never break apart despite the group knowing that they hold its broken fragments. The Giants do seem worried, though as they claim that they no longer have the Key as it has been stolen and that if there attack on the Quori stronghold should fail they would use one of their most powerful weapons, the Moonbreaker, to completely eradicate the Quori forces and keep them from invading Eberron. They don’t tell them much of the Moonbreaker, even though the group already knows its power from the vision they had with the spell book and evidence of a missing moon in the sky but claim they will using it in a few days regardless if they return with the keyblade. Before they leave, Ratchet asks one final question regarding his creators. A Giants who had self modified his own self is the one to speak up and answer them. He tells him of their plan when they created the Warforged and how the Quori where the ones to first realize this from the Giants dreams and create the Warforged first. Ratchet then asks the nature of what happens to his race as they die, stating that other races spirits go to the plane Dolurrh at death. The Giant claims that Warforged souls are created artificially and upon death can be recycled into another warforged so that they do not have to consistently make new souls for more warforged.

As the group gear up to leave, Ratchet is given an upgrade to better fight against the threat and the everyone else are given individual hovering vehicles to allow them to quickly get to the stronghold before the Moonbreaker is used. Ku’rahnk stays behind and the group leaves into the forest. As they travel along though their vehicles suddenly stop working and they are flung from their ride and ambushed by a group of enemy Warforged. Ashkhad attempts to persuade them claiming that the others are prisoners to be presented to their leader. Upon the mentioning of the name Zoratash as their master, the group changes plans and defeats the Warforged. They start of confused that Zoratash exists during this time but quickly realize that they are in too much danger if it gets the Key and quicken their pace to retrieve the Key.

While the unknown Warforged and mysterious creature continue their fight, the group stays back to decided what to do. Ashkhad feels as though he recognizes the glowing creature and a voice in his head confirms that it is a Quori but different from the one that inhabits him. Ratchet makes the decision to help the Warforged after learning of this information and with everyone’s help they manage to defeat the beast. The unknown Warforged looks like nothing they have seen before as the typical materials of wood and stone are not presently shown on its body, but they can indeed confirm it’s a Warforged because of its ghulra. As they try to communicate they reach an impasse, the Warforged doesn’t understand their language and neither do they do it’s. Their first breakthrough from this barrier is when the Warforged stays armed and feels threatened by Ashkhad. It speaks in another strange language that Ashkhad guesses to be some other form of Quori. Ashkhad attempts to communicate and eventually it agrees to believe that they are no longer and threat but asks to analyze Ratchet. Ratchet agrees and the strange Warforged places a device on Ratchet that causes them to exchange thoughts and memories. The Warforged announces his name as Ku’rahnk and begins to speak in common. The group tries to explain the situation they are in and don’t learn much, but they are guided to a glimmering blue city where the Giants reside.

Once inside, Ku’rahnk leads them to his master and acts as a translator between them and the Giant. The Giant seems intrigued by their tale and the fact there are races they haven’t seen before and decides to throw them in a prison cell until they decide what to do with them. Rae summons her Keyblade in hopes to get some answers on what it is. The Giant becomes surprised and manages to take the Keyblade away without ever touching it. The Giant demands to know where we obtained the Keyblade from and Ashkhad explains that it was given to us in a time of need. The Keyblade returns to Rae and the Giant keeps his decision of putting them in a cell to examine later. Ku’rahnk guides them but before leaving he glances at Ratchet as if to say something but decides to say silent. As they sit within their cell, they come up with a plan how to escape, but do to the overwhelming and complicated magical nature of the cell, they can’t figure out how to escape.

After waiting for a few more hours, they feel a large shake in the building and the wall to the next of them crumbles. They can see outside and notice a great battle taking place, with legions of Warforged, Quori, Giants, and Drow fighting. They take no time to escape and as they run through the streets of the city, Rae spots someone familiar in the distance. Ashkhad manages to scale the building and notices Niv atop another building in the distance. As the psion yells out, Niv turns and he notices a smile come across the human’s face before he leaves the scene. Ashkhad also leaves the building and joins back up with the others to go pursue Niv, but as they make their way through the streets, they become blockade by groups of Warforged. They don’t seem to be acting like normal though and look different from the Warforged they know and the Warforged similar to Ku’rahnk. They can only guess that these are ones controlled by the enemy Quori. Rather than engage them and lose Niv, they take detours through the city but have no idea where they need to go.

Suddenly, an arm reaches out from a nearby alley and grabs Ratchet. Startled, he almost attacks but Ku’rahnk reveals himself and shows them a secret way out of the city. They are led to the city’s sewers system and head underground to avoid the dangers from above. While below, Ku’rahnk quickly explains that he was searching for them during the siege and that he had some urge to protect Ratchet. Before they are able to question further, Ku’rahnk and Ashkhad both detect a strange signature and recognize it immediately as a Quori. To hide, they dive into the sewer’s water and wait for the creature to pass by. Once out of the water, they continue their trek through the sewers until they reach the outside of the city.

Askhad, Ratchet and Niv all arrive at the butcher’s shop. They don’t notice anything immediately suspicious and even after questioning the butcher, he says he doesn’t know much other than the elf was a frequent visitor. Ratchet notices an intricate silver dagger, but the Butcher doesn’t say much about it. They decide to leave and instead examine the elf’s house. When they reach the door they notice it is already unlocked, and once inside the door knob is missing on the other side. The entire house is a mess. Furniture is broken and scattered throughout the room and they notice that there was signs of a struggle. When they investigate the house more, they find a hilt without a blade, and determine that it could possibly be connected to the butcher’s dagger. And there is also a love letter addressed to her with the sender’s name being one word, “P.”
Rae and Thorn visit around the neighbor hood to question more suspects but most people seem to know nothing, but all of them seem to have some fear of something prowling in the night, and warn them to stay indoors. They decide to meet back up at the tavern and rest before continuing to investigate tomorrow. They are all gathered in the room when Niv says that he has some business and leaves. Moments later, a creature crashes though the window of their room and attacks the group. They are less surprised of the fact that it is a werewolf and more surprised of it attacking them so suddenly. They combat it, but it seems to regenerate all of their attacks and they begin to get worn down. Ratchet finally manages to get a critical strike in and Ashkhad quickly takes silver coins and pushes them into the wounds. The creature howls in pain and runs away, as it isn’t able to heal as effectively as it was able to before.

They chase down the werewolf to the butcher’s shop and Niv is there waiting. He takes his blade and quickly smashes the werewolf in the face knocking it out. The werewolf transforms back into the butcher comes to. Niv lifts up the slightly awake butcher of his feet ans smashes him into the wall and begins to question him on Krystival Valerek’s laboratory. The butcher finally reveals the location and Niv kills him. The group stands in awe and questions Niv on why he knows that name and what is his lab. Niv simply says that it’s none of our business and directs it specifically at Ashkhad, before running off. They follow him to a hidden ruins within the city and underground. Niv stops in a strange room with magic emanating everywhere. Niv pulls a lever and strings of mutiple colors dance around the room. Everyone feels like they are being pulled apart and the location changes to a jungle. Niv’s hand is still in the position of pulling a lever. He runs off and before they have a chance to chase him, a strange glowing creature with an unfamiliar psionic signature appears followed by a Warforged carrying two psionic like blades. The Quori says, “You will not win Fleshbearer.” Before their fight begins.

Well rested, they start of deciding where they are going next. They choose to go to Xen’drik after deciding that the vision in the mask depicted what appeared to be Xen’drik. Rae contacts the Dark Lanterns in advance to call for help in securing a ride to the continent on a ship and they take the lightning rail from Wroat down to Sharn. The unrest in Sharn from last they arrived had settled down by they were still unease on visiting their own home. Rather, they decided to simply wait down at a tavern by the docks until their procured ship was ready to leave. When they enter though, Ratchet notices someone familiar to him and goes up to see him. Ratchet is just as surprised to see Niv as him. They all say their greetings and catch up to waste time. They all get up to leave and realize that they are all taking the same ship to Xen’drik. During the trip, Thorn and Niv spare with each other, but Thorn becomes to ill to continue and falls overboard.

When they reach Stormreach, Niv asks them if they would help him with an assignment he was tasked with. They agree and Niv informs them of several murders in the past few months that have concerned the Storm Lords. While the Storm Lords aren’t on friendly terms with House Denneith, they still requested their help. Niv takes us to a building where two recent victims have been placed. The two are a human and an elf. Everyone looks over the body and decide that both victims were killed not with a blade but rather with claws. To cover more ground, Rae and Thorn form a group to examine the scene of the death and the relatives the human, while Ashkhad, Ratchet, and Niv examine the scene of the crime and the home of the elf.

Thorn and Rae go to see the relatives of the human and thankfully the human’s sister was at home. They question her but she doesn’t have much information about the crime. They are allowed to examine her room and find a journal that doesn’t have much in it other than the fact that she was in love with a man, and jealous of another woman who also seemed to love that man. They are unable to take the journal but learned that if the victim (when alive) were to leave the house, no one would have noticed.
Ashkhad, Ratchet and Niv examine the docks where the elf was killed. They don’t find much and the locals don’t seem to know much about the murder either. There is a bit of a blood stain on the docks though, and when they look closer they notice a small slip of paper that had been soaked in the blood with advertisement of a local butcher shop. They decide that that is there next destination.